British scientists claim to have created human sperm for the first time, an accomplishment they say may someday help infertile men father children. Sorry fellas, I did that too, at least 20 years ago.The technique, using embryonic stem cells, produced baby mice from sperm derived in a similar way. Mouse sperm, not human sperm. Unless you're a Republican, you know that stem cells can become any cell in the body, and scientists have previously turned them into a variety of new entities, including cells from the brain, pancreas, heart and blood vessels.
Some experts challenged the research, saying they weren't convinced the team had actually produced sperm cells. Several critics also said the sperm cells they created were clearly abnormal; they did not have the specific shape, movement and function of real sperm, and were better suited to be labeled "spermatazoa".
The scientists only plan to produce sperm to study the reasons behind infertility, and will not fertilize any eggs.
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